Build a tray stand to hold your kitchen necessities--purchase a candle stand and a cake plate or tray from your local dollar store and hot glue them together. This will keep items dry and out of the way while working in the kitchen!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

In my home, it is inevitable that game boxes get torn and broken, and pieces of these games or puzzles always go missing. That is until I thought of this idea--I purchased multiple zippered pouches from my local dollar store, labeled each one along with a picture of the game/puzzle, and placed all contents inside. These pouches now stay up HIGH until the kids want to play with them lol. It has definitely helped in salvaging the kids nice things! :)

Wasps can really be a nuisance! Add a mixture of vinegar(1 cup), sugar( 1tbsp) and salt(1tbsp) in a dish or use the bottom half of a 2L pop bottle and place around your yard. The wasps are attracted to the sweet and sour scent. Bees will be safe as they don’t seem to be attracted by this sour mixture.

Looking to clean the inside of your oven and even the door??? Sprinkle baking soda over the entire surface then pour lemon juice over top. It should fizz, then allow to sit for approximately one hour. All debris should wipe away very easily! Repeat if necessary, but you can swap lemon juice for vinegar!

Friday, January 25, 2013

Keep a small bucket or tub of kitty litter in your trunk during the winter months--when your car is stuck in snow, sprinkle the litter around your tires and you will be out in no time!
This actually works drastically better than using sand :)

Thursday, January 24, 2013

1. Put a sheet of fabric softener underneath each seat in the car to make it smell nice.

2. For bad odours in cars, put some new ground up coffee beans in area where
odor is. Leave for a few days if possible and vacuum it up. The odour
should be gone and the car will smell 100 times better!

1. If you have a problem with ants coming in your door, take a piece of
white chalk and draw a line. The ants will not cross the line!

OR

2. Buy Corn Meal and sprinkle lightly around wherever the ants have built their
colonies. They will flock to the the pile immediately, eat them, and the corn meal will
make the ants implode and destroy them.

OR

3. Ants don't like cayenne pepper sprinkled around their anthills, or cucumber peelings.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Why spend your money on expensive crafts when you can make lovely art with items already in your home?!
Your children will have a blast dipping paint in various objects to see what design each makes!
Here are two examples of household things you can use:

1. Save the end of a stalk of celery--when dipped in paint, the stamp makes a ROSE impression.

2. Save toilet paper tubes--they can easily turn into a HEART stamp! If need be, tape the heart tube in place while in use :)

If you are like me, you have countless small packets of random spices you have only used once or twice--and everytime you go looking for something else in your pantry, you have to sort through their scattered mess. Well today ends that frustration--buy a small box or tin with a lid, place all packets inside (you can even paperclip or bulldog clip the top of any that are open) and label the box.
I say a box with a LID because I had placed all my packages in a small plastic tray, and they STILL managed to be everywhere they werent supposed to!
Hope this tip helpw many of you!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

To remove chewing gum from clothing, upholstery or carpets, heat some white vinegar in a pan and apply it to the gum. This is quicker and more effective than the normal method of freezing with ice cubes.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Heat 1 cup of vinegar for 90 seconds in the microwave then pour into a
spray bottle and add 1/2 cup of dish soap. Let sit for about 15 minutes
then wipe away effortlessly! That's it! :) Better than anything, even a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!

UPDATE: If you find that there are too many 'suds' when wiping clean, rinse with COLD water

Did
you know soaking your feet in vinegar (especially apple cider vinegar)
soothes and cleans tired, sore and dry feet...and even rids them of
fungus! If you DO have nail fungus, applying Vicks Vaporub to the
affected nails twice daily has also been proven to work.

When cleaning, start with jobs that need 'dry' cleaning, such as dusting and sweeping. Then move on to 'wet' cleaning such as using glass cleaner and polish. This ensures that less dirt will float around in the air and then cling to the wet surfaces.
Also, cleaning from the top to the bottom can be a great timesaver because if you’re cleaning a ceiling fan or cobwebs up in the corner, you won’t have to worry about knocking dust onto a freshly dusted table or vacuumed carpet.

Have a few fresh herbs sitting around that you won't get to using before they turn? Sure, you canfreeze them in water or dry them out, but if you know you'll use them relatively quickly, you can add a few weeks to their life without damaging their potency by freezing them in oil instead.
Drop your herbs in an ice cube tray, filling up the cubes with olive oil (or any other oil of your choice, as long as it freezes nicely), and popping them in the freezer. When you're ready to fry some potatoes, for example, pop out a couple of rosemary oil cubes—you'll need the oil for the pan anyway, and the rosemary will be right at home. Need some oil in a baking dish or crock pot for a few chicken breasts? Grab a frozen sage oil cube. The sky's the limit!

Aid in teaching your children independence at a young age! A great idea is to invest in a hanging clothes organizer for your child's room---then label each pocket with the days of the week (this can be done with construction paper or sticky labels for example).Help your child pick an outfit for each day. When morning arrives, they are able to dress themselves by going to the day of the week!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Most stains can easily be removed with hydrogen peroxide! This includes blood and underarm stains as well. Leave on for about 10 minutes, scrub and wash as normal.

For human oil marks on collared shirts, using a normal shampoo works great!

For grease, cooking oil and butter stains, there are two methods that work well--one being Blue Dawn dish soap and the other is baking soda. With the baking soda, sprinkle over stain..you will begin to see it 'ball' as it absorbs the grease. Repeat as necessary until no more 'balling' occurs. Wash as normal. THIS EVEN WORKS AFTER YOUR GARMENTS HAVE BEEN WASHED AND DRIED!

Don't waste your money on expensive shampoos and treatments! All you need to do is wash your pet in Blue Dawn dish soap as normal.
For your home, simply sprinkle small piles of Borax in discreet places around your house--ie. in corners of the room, under beds and couches, etc.

This definitely comes in handy at my house where my kids always seem to find my Sharpies no matter where I hide them! It has saved my couch cushions, dining room chairs, floor and various articles of clothing! Haha

Thursday, January 10, 2013

1. First clean out clutter. Such as Gum Wrappers, old receipts, candy, etc. Its best to clean out all of the junk before it either makes a purse smell horrible, or drives you bonkers sifting threw your junk like sand at the beach. A good habit to get into is never storing food items in your purse! From having kids, I know first-hand how easily cookie or candy packages can bust open--creating a scavenger hunt for you...except not in a fun way!

2. Invest in a wallet made with so many pockets you don't know what to do with. Chances are you'll find something to do with them. In your wallet have any paper items, pictures, money, loose change. It's hard to imagine a purse without the jingling change that sounds like reindeer on Christmas but you'll learn to live with out it. For this, make it a habit to put cards and change in their proper place RIGHT AWAY when given them back. Ive definitely had a few panic attacks in line at a store searching for my debit card!

3. Get some makeup bags. You know those tiny little make-up bags that's used for eye pencils? Yes, invest in one of those. Put all your little misfit items in it such as hand sanitizer, lip stick, deodorant, tampons, etc.

4. Think about buying a new purse that has some pockets for, say your cell phone. Plus who doesn't deserve a new purse every once in a while. It will also encourage you to empty your old change and empty the junk.

5. Take a few moments out of everyday to look in your purse and un-clutter a little--remove all items that should not be in there and put away immediately!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I really dislike a cluttered bathroom, especially in drawers and on the counter. So I had to find a solution as to where I was going to put all these items!
I was actually able to find a hanging organizer at Walmart that I hang in a closet! Included are many of my beauty supplies like nail polish, clippers, nail files, bobby pins, wipes--you can really include anything that will fit!
Now, I never have to worry about searching around for that certain nail polish! ;)

Everyone has one...or two of these types of drawers, full of old batteries, cords, pens, loose papers, etc. I dread opening this drawer in our home because it makes me cringe every time attempting to find that one small item I need!
Although it may take you a little while to go through it the initial time, it is definitely worth organizing for the future!
First, remove EVERY item from the drawer and wipe down the inside thoroughly. Next, grab about 3-4 small plastic containers (or re-use margarine,yogurt, or any others lying around). Begin categorizing all items; batteries in one container, loose change in another (a plastic water bottle is a nice alternative because it has a tight lid). Label all manuals and place in a pile flat on the bottom of the drawer. Test out all pens and throw away any defectives ones. Label all cords (bread tabs are great for this) and place them all together--if you have a strap of any kind, it is great to tie it around your group of cords.
Once your improved drawer is complete, take a sigh of relief and maintain its organization to make life just a little more simple! :)

Organize your children's smaller toys or dolls in a shoe organizer on the back of a door. Teach them to go there for the items, and always return them to the pockets as well!
This is great for little boys Hot Wheel cars too!